COVID-19 has presented our school with a wide variety of previously unimaginable challenges. Despite the best efforts of our staff and families, this school year has been fragmented for many of our students. Some have missed school due to periods of quarantine or illness. In other cases, students' parents have been laid off due to the continued economic impact of the pandemic or have had to leave their jobs in order to supervise older children who are now remote learning. Several students who had received government funding from On My Way PreK or the Child Care & Development Fund (CCDF) for their tuition, unfortunately, lost that funding when their parents stopped working.
These circumstances have been challenging. However, at MLK Montessori, we have found creative new ways to reach students and support their learning so that they begin the 2021-2022 school year ready to learn.
For example, we have been distributing daily take-home learning kits to all students—those who are currently learning at home and those who are still in school. The kits include a wide variety of at-home activities (including paper adaptations of our classic Montessori materials!) and are tailored to match students’ individual ability levels and learning styles.
Additionally, three afternoons/evenings each week (every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday), our lead teacher, Ms. Robin, hosts four 30-minute virtual enrichment sessions for students. They are not required, and there is no need to “register;” if their families are interested in having their child participate, the child simply joins the session or sessions that are convenient for their family. During each session, Ms. Robin and the students may work through the take-home materials, explore a concept that has recently been covered in the classroom, or remediate a specific area where the students need additional support. Because we offer so many sessions each week, Ms. Robin is usually able to work with a very small group of students at each session. This helps her to build deeper connections with students and support not just their academic needs but also their social-emotional needs.
Ms. Robin has been thrilled by the family engagement and student excitement she has witnessed this year. Parents are often near the children during the virtual sessions, asking questions and finding ways to support their child’s learning, and students are always excited to have special time with their teacher. One young student frequently asks Ms. Robin, “Are we going to talk on the phone tonight?!” We are proud that, through these extra efforts, we have been able to provide flexible learning opportunities, support families, and help bridge any gaps in learning that occurred during this unusual school year.
